Abstract
Sr\(_2\)IrO\(_4\) and Sr\(_3\)Ir\(_2\)O\(_7\) form two families of spin-orbit Mott insulators with quite different charge gaps and an antiferromagnetic (AF) ground state. This offers a unique opportunity to study the impact of long-range magnetic order in Mott insulators. It appears to play a different role in the two families, as there is almost no change of the resistivity at the magnetic transition \(T_N\) in Sr\(_2\)IrO\(_4\) and a large one in Sr\(_3\)Ir\(_2\)O\(_7\). We use angle-resolved photoemission to study the evolution of the spectral lineshape through the magnetic transition. We use Ru and La substitutions to tune \(T_N\) and discriminate changes due to temperature from those due to magnetic order. We evidence a shift and a transfer of spectral weight in the gap at \(T_N\) in Sr\(_3\)Ir\(_2\)O\(_7\), which is absent in Sr\(_2\)IrO\(_4\). We assign this behavior to a significantly larger coherent contribution to the spectral lineshape in Sr\(_3\)Ir\(_2\)O\(_7\), which evolves strongly at \(T_N\). On the contrary, the Sr\(_2\)IrO\(_4\) lineshape is dominated by the incoherent part, which is insensitive to \(T_N\). We compare these findings to theoretical expectations of the Slater vs Mott antiferromagnetism within dynamical mean field theory.
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PF, FB, PLF, and VB performed ARPES experiments. MC, MR, AC, and JB performed the calculations. PF, VB, DC, AF, and PT synthesized and characterized the samples. PF, VB, and MC wrote the manuscript, with feedbacks from all authors.
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Foulquier, P., Civelli, M., Rozenberg, M. et al. Evolution of the spectral lineshape at the magnetic transition in Sr\(_2\)IrO\(_4\) and Sr\(_3\)Ir\(_2\)O\(_7\). Eur. Phys. J. B 96, 42 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/s10051-023-00512-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/s10051-023-00512-3